Computerization and the advent of flat panel displays have resulted in a proliferation of digital electronic display devices ranging from plasma televisions to cellular telephones. One particularly fast growing segment of the digital electronic display market are devices designed to display e-books, i.e. books that are distributed in electronic form. “E-books” also include, by way of non-limiting examples, non-traditional “books” comprising documents and collections of printable pages such as handwritten documents, notated music (e.g. sheet music), chord charts, “fake music”, lead sheets, court documents, dissertations, theses, journals, periodicals, magazine, lab notebooks, and photographs, to name a few.
E-books are usually read on dedicated digital electronic display devices commonly known as e-book readers, although they are increasingly being read on other types of electronic display devices such as computer displays, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular telephones.
Dedicated e-book readers are often based upon electronic paper displays. Electronic Paper (also known as “e-paper” or “electronic ink”) is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel computer display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper. Furthermore, electronic paper is sometimes capable of displaying text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity.
Examples of e-book readers include the Amazon Kindle®, the Sony PRS-700™ and the Barnes & Noble Nook™. Some e-book readers, such as the Amazon Kindle, use mechanical buttons to navigate to and through an e-book, which other e-book readers, such as the Sony PRS-700, use touch-screen display technology. The Barnes & Noble Nook is a hybrid device including an electronic paper screen, mechanical buttons and a small, color touch screen display.
It should be noted that references to the Amazon Kindle refer to a dedicated hardware e-book reader marketed by Amazon, Inc. Amazon also provides Amazon Kindle software which runs on a variety of platforms, such as computers, cell phones and tablet computers, which will be referred to herein as “Kindle Application Programs.”
The introduction of the iPAD™ tablet computer by Apple, Inc. has generated new interest and has heightened competition in the e-book market. The iPAD has a full-color touch-screen display and therefore has the benefits and disadvantages of backlit, flat panel computer displays. The iPAD uses its touch-screen for e-book navigation. The iPAD is provided with e-book reader software, and can also, for example, run Kindle Application Programs for the purpose of buying and reading e-books sold and/or delivered wirelessly by Amazon.
E-book readers are generally intended to be handheld devices and are controlled by pressing a button, either mechanical or virtual, or by making gestures with a finger on a touch screen display. However, there are times when it would be desirable to be able to control a digital electronic display device, such as an e-book reader, without actually touching the device. For example, a musician might desire to use an e-book reader to display sheet music and would not have a hand free for “turning” the pages of the e-book. As another example, a person engaging in a physical activity, such as running on a treadmill, may wish use an e-book reader that is propped up and out of convenient reach. Furthermore, handicapped persons may be physically incapable of using their hands to hold and/or control an e-book reader.
With respect to the last example set forth above, there have been devices made for the handicapped to aid in the reading of ordinary books. For example, Zygo Industries, Inc. markets a manual page turner for conventional books which allows a handicapped person to use a joystick to turn pages forward and backward, one at a time or continuously (e.g. when scanning a chapter or a directory). However, manual page turners of the prior art are unsuitable for use with e-book readers and other forms of digital electronic display devices.
These and other limitations of the prior art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several figures of the drawing.